Liberty Fighters Network & Another v Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde N.O, & 9 Others (High Court Western Cape Division, Cape Town – Case No. 2026-024184) – Lodged: 5 February 2026
Last Updated: 17 February 2026 (Previous Version: 5 February 2026)
Liberty Fighters Network (LFN), together with its President, Reyno Dawid De Beer N.O., on 5 February 2026 have instituted an urgent application in the High Court, Western Cape Division, challenging the lawfulness and constitutionality of the implementation of the Final Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Action Plan (2025).
The application is directed against the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, the Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, the Western Cape MEC for Environmental Affairs, SANParks, CapeNature, the City of Cape Town, and the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (CPBMJTT), among others.
At its core, the case is not about policy preference, but about lawful authority, constitutional compliance, and accountability in environmental governance.
What the case is about
The Final Action Plan contemplates permanent and irreversible interventions affecting wild baboon troops on the Cape Peninsula, including capture, forced removal, confinement in sanctuaries or enclosures, surgical sterilisation, and euthanasia as an express contingency.
LFN contends that these measures are being advanced without identifiable lawful administrative decisions, without proper statutory authority, and under the guise of a joint task team structure that has no independent legal personality or decision-making powers.
Unless restrained by the Court, the implementation of the plan will create a fait accompli, rendering constitutional complaints and future review proceedings meaningless.
Failure to appoint the Commissioner for the Environment
A central feature of the case is the failure of the Western Cape executive to operationalise the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, a constitutional office established under section 71 of the Constitution of the Western Cape.
This office is intended to serve as an independent oversight mechanism for environmental governance in the province. Its continued vacancy, under the political responsibility of the Premier and Provincial Parliament, has resulted in the absence of effective oversight at a time when far-reaching conservation decisions are being implemented.
LFN argues that this failure constitutes a breach of the constitutional obligation to perform constitutional duties diligently and without delay, and that the vacuum has allowed controversial and potentially unlawful conservation actions to proceed unchecked.
The CPBMJTT and obscured decision-making
The application further exposes how the CPBMJTT has been positioned as the apparent decision-maker, while the underlying organs of state — SANParks, CapeNature, and the City of Cape Town — remain shielded behind it.
LFN contends that this has obscured who actually took which decisions, under what law, on what date, and based on which records and reasons, thereby frustrating transparency, accountability, and the right to lawful administrative action.
The Court is asked to compel the disclosure of the full decision-making record, including all permits, authorisations, and reasons relied upon to justify implementation of the plan.
Urgent interim relief and structural relief
In Part A of the application, LFN seeks urgent interim relief to interdict any permanent, irreversible, or fait accompli actions arising from the Final Action Plan, pending proper oversight and/or review proceedings.
In Part B, LFN seeks declaratory and structural relief, including orders directing the Premier to ensure the lawful appointment of the Commissioner for the Environment, and declaring the agreement that established the CPBMJTT unlawful and of no force and effect, alternatively subject to investigation once the Commissioner’s office is properly filled.
Public-interest litigation
LFN brings this case in the public interest, not to dictate conservation policy, but to ensure that decisions affecting wildlife, biodiversity, and the environment are taken by lawfully empowered authorities, in a transparent manner, and subject to constitutional oversight.
The papers make clear that this litigation arises only after repeated requests for clarity, undertakings, and lawful process were refused, and after it became evident that implementation would proceed regardless of unresolved legality concerns.
Download the court papers
The full court record is made available in the interest of transparency and public accountability:
- Notice of Motion (Urgent Application)
- Founding Affidavit of Reyno Dawid De Beer N.O.
- Annexures “A” to “J”
- Rule 16A Notice
- Answering Affidavit (City of Cape Town and CapeNature)
- Answering Affidavit (SANParks)
- Replying Affidavit in reply to City of Cape Town and CapeNature)
- Replying Affidavit in reply to SANParks
Members of the public, media, researchers, and interested organisations are encouraged to read the papers in full and to form their own informed view on the issues raised.
Download the papers